Small businesses: 6 mistakes to avoid when launching your e-commerce website

The world of e-commerce is full of promise and opportunity. It is easy to lose sight of a few essential points and to rush in without being truly prepared. We have therefore listed 6 mistakes that many small businesses and entrepreneurs have made in the past, so that you can avoid them.

1. Underestimating the work involved

Many people launch into e-commerce believing it is an easy way to make money — that all you need to do is take orders and ship products. Although e-commerce businesses exist in cyberspace, they still demand attention and effort to function well and grow.

You will almost certainly need to outsource certain parts, even if managing everything yourself remains the most cost-effective approach, especially in the early stages.

The fact that your project is intangible does not make it any simpler. And its success will depend on your commitment and preparation (or that of your service providers).

2. Not writing a business plan

Even without going as far as a 50-page business plan covering every conceivable scenario, a few essential elements must be clearly defined from the outset for an optimal result.

• Know your product and its market.
• Know your target audience.
• Know the problem your target audience faces and how to provide a solution.
• Know the competition, its strengths and weaknesses.
• Can you capitalise on the weaknesses of your competitors?
• Do you intend to be competitive on price, or will you differentiate through your positioning?
• Ensure your online presence highlights your points of differentiation.

These few points can help lay the very foundations and strategy of any business or e-commerce venture.

3. Not planning a marketing strategy

Unfortunately, the idea that clients will come to your site of their own accord is wishful thinking. Creating your e-commerce site is only the beginning of the journey. You will then need to plan your strategy for attracting visitors and generating traffic.

Here are a few elements to consider in this regard, for example:

• Set up an analytics and tracking tool, such as Google Analytics.
• Have a sufficient understanding of concepts such as SEO or cost-per-click; without necessarily becoming an expert, knowing what these entail can only be a good thing.
• Understand the importance of social media.

You can find information online. Marketing strategies are well documented there; an inbound marketing strategy could prove particularly interesting for you. Get ahead of the competition and find out what works — and what does not — in your sector.

It is important to have a solid understanding of these subjects, even if you decide to outsource certain parts such as SEO and advertising campaigns.

4. Choosing the wrong e-commerce platform

When it comes to managing your e-commerce business, the online shop software your site uses can become either your best ally or a real obstacle. Making the wrong choice of platform can quickly become frustrating.

By "wrong choice", we mean choosing a platform that does not match your needs — one that is outdated, underdeveloped, unnecessarily customised, lacks professional support, or was built by a friend of a friend.

Define the functional requirements (both for your customers and for the back-office) that the platform will need to fulfil. Also consider the resources you will need to manage your site.

There are two possible approaches:

• A hosted e-commerce solution such as Shopify or Etsy
• Or a customised installation of a popular e-commerce programme such as Magento, WooCommerce, or Cs-cart.

The popularity and reputation of an e-commerce platform indicate that it has been widely tested and is regularly updated.

Additionally, ensure that your site will be able to offer an optimal user experience, from the homepage right through to purchase confirmation. The user journey is one of the most important aspects of your site.

5. Presenting your products poorly

Often, we fail to put ourselves objectively in our customers' shoes. How they will perceive your products, and their presentation, is an essential but frequently overlooked aspect.

You should think of your e-commerce site as both your shop window and your salesperson — your only one, if you sell exclusively online.

Make sure you offer high-quality photographs, at the correct dimensions, for each product. Similarly, add a detailed description to each product that covers the essential information (sizes, dimensions, colours, options, and anything else you would want to know if you were about to make an online purchase yourself). The more precise information you provide about your products, the more you will optimise the user experience and, consequently, the more you will increase your chances of selling.

6. Forgetting about responsiveness

Often, when you think about a website, you picture it in your mind on a computer screen. And you can end up forgetting an important fact: more than half of all internet users will visit your site on their phone. Indeed, since the end of 2016, Google searches on mobile devices have exceeded those on computers.

Your site will therefore need to be responsive — meaning its pages adapt to different screen formats.

Imagine a hero image that takes up the entire top of your page on a computer screen. If your site is not responsive, a phone screen will display only a fragment of that image. The visitor will have to scroll to see the rest and it will be impossible to view it all at once. That is anything but practical.

The same applies to text. Nobody likes having to scroll their screen constantly to read a few lines.

Responsiveness solves all of this. Images are resized, text wraps within screen boundaries. Whether your visitors are using a desktop, a laptop, a smartphone, or a tablet, they will all see a site with a visually adapted, attractive layout!

Embracing e-commerce can bring you a great deal. Whether it is to extend the customer base of an existing physical shop or to dive in and build a thriving business from scratch. After all, Amazon started as a small e-commerce shop.

An e-commerce project is therefore well worth the time spent doing thorough research and preparing the ground, from the specification document right through to the final launch and promotion.

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